Bangladesh–Russia relations

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Bangladesh–Russia Relations relations
Map indicating locations of Bangladesh and Russia

Bangladesh

Russia
Envoy
Dr. Saiful HaqoueAlexander l. Ignatov

Relations between Bangladesh and Russia. Russia has an embassy in Dhaka and Bangladesh has an embassy in Moscow. Diplomatic relations were established on 25 January 1972, when Russia was the Soviet Union.[1]

Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has visited Russia twice to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The first time was in 2009 and then in 2013.[2]

Soviet-era relations[change | change source]

Relations between the Soviet Union and Bangladesh were good in the years immediately after Bangladesh's independence in 1971. The Soviet Union supported Indian actions in aiding the war of liberation, and after the war the Soviet Navy sent a floating workshop to Bangladesh for clearing Pakistani mines from the Chittagong and Chalna harbors. Mujib visited Moscow in 1972, and high-level officials from both countries made numerous reciprocal visits until 1975. The Soviets supported the socialist programs of the Mujib government and its very exceptionally close ties with India. Early Soviet aid was limited, however. During the first four months of its existence, Bangladesh received economic aid worth US$142 million from India, but only US$6 million from the Soviet Union.

It also believed that the Communist Party of Bangladesh was funded and supported in the erstwhile volatile region of the former East Pakistan since then it was part of a United Pakistan itself allied with the United States and the China which were hostile towards rival Soviet Union, the party itself was based on the idealogical principals of Marxism.

Bangladeshi-Soviet relations rapidly improved in 1984 and regained a level of cordiality in the mid- and late 1980s. In 1985 the Soviet Cultural Centre reopened in Dhaka. In 1986 a Soviet special envoy visited Dhaka, and later the Bangladeshi foreign minister visited Moscow. Although Soviet aid to Bangladesh was still small compared with assistance from Japan, the United States, or even China, by 1987 Bangladesh had entered into sixteen different economic accords with the Soviet Union. Soviet assistance has concentrated on the energy sector, especially several power plants at Ghorasal, near Dhaka.

References[change | change source]

  1. Overview of the Russian-Bangladeshi Relations Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh
  2. "Agreements between Russia and Bangladesh promote bilateral relations". The Voice of Russia. RIA Novosti. 15 January 2013.